Best component cables silver or copper

I gotta tell you, I've been really impressed with the Tara Labs RSC (Rectangular Square Core) component cables. They really do a phenomenal job.

Granted, they're a little pricey, but some exploration and a wanted ad on the 'GoN should produce a few offers that are appreciably less than retail.

The reason silver plated copper works so well for video and not so well for analog audio is that at video (and digital) frequencies, which are very high, nearly the entire signal rides on the skin of the conductor rather than through the core. This means that a silver plated copper conductor can effecively sound like a pure silver conductor but at a lower cost.

Silver, when done right, tends to outperform copper, but silver is not always done right. The purity of the metal, method of drawing or casting, grain and crystal structure, all make a difference. Also the dielectric can have as much of an effect on performance as the conductor itself.

DH Labs component video cables work very well for me, and the LAT International are excellent for video as well. Both are copper with silver coating, though LAT explains that their coating is applied under high pressure (or something) to "fuse" the silver into the copper creating a near alloy. Silver plated cables have never worked for me for audio, but these two are the best video cables I have used. Curiously, the LAT International digital IC seems to work well too.

"to "fuse" the silver into the copper creating a near alloy."

This is exactly my problem with the dodgy marketing of some expensive cables. They use pseudo-science phrases like "near alloy" to hopefully impress hifi enthusiasts into thinking their cables are something special.
I'm sorry, but a metal is either an alloy (a substance composed of 2 or more metals) or it isn't.

We need to stop thinking some cable companies have re-invented the wheel; by all means test and compare cables, but stick to tried and tested cable designs from trusted manufacturers and you're unlikely to go wrong.

PS. Davemitchell's answer is very accurate - take his advice!